Sara Mudge

A conflict has engulfed a brand-new N.B. municipality. It may be a sign of a wider problem | CBC News The idea sounded simple: bring villages, towns and local service districts in New Brunswick together under new councils. Two years later, some of those new unions have struggled with division, anger a...

Not sure I buy Martin's argument that NB moved too quickly on municipal reform. Just the opposite. What's being missed here, I think, is that the previous elected councils or advisory councils were also dysfunctional. 1/2

Conflicts in amalgamated municipal councils:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

As a Sara with no H, I appreciate this post - LOL. Fun fact: in 5th grade, there were 4 Sara(h)s in my class. 3 of us had last names that began with M, so we had to go by the first consonant of our last name. Which meant I was Sara Mud. It was not a good year.

For durability go hardsided and made from polycarbonate; ABS is cheap and cracks easily. Polypropylene is light and inexpensive but not as strong as polycarbonate. For light travel: a good quality soft set can be better than a crappy hard set. Look for a good warranty: 10+ years or lifetime

They buy from us when our price is lower than the competition. 25% tarrif = we lose our competitive advantage

NB has in-province sales and out-of-province sales. Out-of-province sales generate revenue to subsidize the cost of in-province electricity. If sales to the US go down the subsidy goes down, and the cost of electricity goes up for NBers.

Sure, but energy efficiency is cheaper than any form of generation. We can reduce the demand for electricity to avoid having to build new power plants - solar, nuclear or other. FYI: energy efficiency = $40/MWh, nuclear = $89/MW, solar farms = $110/MWh, rooftop solar = $228/MWh (as of 2023)

sorry, thought we were talking about microgrids; not sure why nuclear is now part of the convo? Even net-zero homes - capable of producing as much as they use - still need some extra energy input in winter when their needs can't be met from solar and battery alone. Wind is a great option for that

yes, but many homes need upgrades to be compatible with microgrids. New homes: ~$65k/home for solar, battery + microgrid controllers. Older homes can cost >$100k with retrofits to get them compatible; or you get a lot of insulation and buy from a community solar farm (with its own battery) for less

A great idea conceptually, but only ~20% of homes in NB are compatible without upgrades. It can be done! But at a cost of $50-100k per home; we may be better off investing heavily in efficiency (insulation and cold climate heat pumps), and powering homes via community energy, rather than microgrids

What Makes People Want to Break Up with Their Family? The announcement that Prince Harry and Princess Meghan seek freedom from the royal family can be understood from research on the role of ambivalence in family relationships.

You can "break up" with toxic family members, not just romantic partners. Basically means you're ending the relationship/not going to put up with their sh!t anymore.

Municipal reform. 50 newly formed muni's held elections in 2022, so the "every 4 yrs" date was set at 2026. Muni's that were not impacted by municipal reform and didn't need an election in 2022 so kept their 2021 elected councils will now keep that council until 2026 to align with the rest of NB

Saturday Night Live - SNL on X: "Zelenskyy’s White House meeting with Trump and Vance https://t.co/l7T2GCvVJW" / X Zelenskyy’s White House meeting with Trump and Vance https://t.co/l7T2GCvVJW

SNL needs to be on bluesky - one of the only reasons I still visit twitter: x.com/nbcsnl/statu...

Per NB's Electricity Act, SJE can only supply to "distribution customers" which is anyone requiring a service of <69 kV (low voltage). Anyone requiring >69 kV (high voltage) is a "transmission customer" and has to be serviced by NB Power. Large industries - even in SJ - are therefore NBP customers

interesting, I wonder where they are getting that info... because it doesn't match other industry comparisons. Yes, NB did have a 10% rate increase, however that doesn't move us to near last place, like they are suggesting. NB is still very competitive.

NB has one of the lowest electricity rates in North America. If their business model doesn't work here, then rates are probably not their problem.

Into the wild - great movie!

Many of NB's fossil fuel plants can't respond to hourly changes in demand (3 days to start a turbine at Coleson!). Changes in daily load are met through hydro, which is rapid response; fossil fuels stay on to meet baseload. So more solar in winter = less Mactaquac, and not less fossil fuels.

NBP imports when the cost to buy is less than the cost to make it. We also play the role of reliability coordinator; we have a legal obligation to provide power to our neighbours from an energy security perspective. That relationship is a net benefit to NB. More info: nbem.nbpower.com/en/about-us/

Generally it is to increase revenue, which translates into reducing the cost of electricity within NB. Anything NB sells to the US is used to subsidize rates for NBers.

Eastern Canada is completely covered in snow except for Saint John, which is covered in ice, as usual.

Antonine Maillet, grande romancière acadienne, est morte L’écrivaine et dramaturge lègue une œuvre riche qui a rendu ses lettres de noblesse à l’Acadie, à son histoire et aux gens qui la font vivre.

Une grande dame de l’Acadie et une gardienne de notre mémoire vient de nous quitter. Reposez en paix Madame Maillet. On vous aime!!!

CMHC offers an interest free loan of up to $40,000, with a 15% advance to help with your deposit. If you go through the Total Home Program offered by NB Power, you can participate in the Navigator Service that helps with your application process: www.saveenergynb.ca/en/for-home/....

Some people have noticed there are more billing days on this years December bill than in 2023. Five extra days would add another 18% onto your bill (33 billing days compared to 28)

1.336 x 1.18 = 1.576

Again, without changing anything in your home, your December bill could be 57% higher.

Chivalry is 'courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak'. Don't assume a woman is weak/doesn't know what she's doing. Be courteous by asking if she needs help but if she says she's fine, she's fine. Anything more and you've crossed the line from being chivalrous to sexist.

In Ottawa, yes, but this move has heavy Dorothy Shephard-Blaine Higgs vibes in New Brunswick.